First and Foremost Kudos to all you wedding videographers out there! Coming from the "Wedding Photographer" world I dont envy your job with todays bridezilla's, thier mothers, and thier controlling PERSONAL assistants.... (the reason I quit doing wedding photography!) WHEW...now that thats out there....

I received a call from a very panic stricten bride a couple hours ago that got my name from her wedding photographer. Apparantly "Uncle Mike" who was going to do her wedding video next weekend has had second thoughts and has backed out. She is asking....NO she and the photographer are BEGGING me to videotape her wedding. Of course I asked her what she wanted for a final product and she replied "The typical standard Wedding DVD"

I was doing some surfing and I see some pretty extravagant productions out there....

I MAY do this for her as I have the equipment, but I have no idea what to supply as a final product... Could you guys please point me in the right direction! Looking for Simple!

Thank you...

To be honest, if they are just wanting something simple and don't have huge expectations, then this could be your chance to blow them out of the water. Of course, this is providing you want to gain referrals from this bride.

However, if you simply want to get through it and forget about it, then I don't think stressing over the product is going to matter.

For something more elaborate I might suggest providing a DVD, which includes a highlights video to recap the day. Usually these are about 5-10 mins in length. In addition to that I would create a documentary edit of the day to include all the special moments. This runs between 1-2 hours depending on the amount of events and length of ceremony.

Otherwise if you want simple, then just cut and paste the important moments and maybe add in some music. I think you are wide open at this point to set your style and roll with it.

Sorry but there is no typical wedding DVD.

What I mean is that some people give a 30 minute "party edit" only. I did that years ago. Some offer a doco style pretty much everything is there. That's what I do now. Some offer a cinematic style of edit while others combine that with a short form style. Etc, Etc, Etc....
So how to satisfy? Well she already said "typical Wedding DVD", so since we should never argue with the customer lets give her what she said she wants. I would give her a doco style edit, include the entire ceremony (although if Catholic Mass, I do cut the communion-don't need the back of 200 heads) add something nice and clean up front, B footage of the church outside and in with titles, then the Ceremony, maybe some Postceremony photosession whether you actually shoot that or candid stuff while the photog shoots the posed stuff add in some Bfootage of the reception. Exterior of the site, escort cards menu, people talking, B&G doing a receiving line if they do that, maybe about 3 or 4 minutes total for all of that. Introductions, cake cutting, toasts (speeches) 1st dance, daddy daughter, mother sone dances a little bit of open dance, bouquet and garter toss if they do it and its at a resonable time. Cut it all to fit into about 90-110 minutes. Add in a recap of the day at the end if you want 3 or 4 minutes. Or not.
NOW the B&G have a recollection of the dayso there can't be any arguement that "you missed this or that" as long as they know what you're going to do BEFORE you do it. (When they sign up is the time to go over this stuff) The reason I suggest this type of edit is because it is the easiest type of edit to do.
It's what I call 'down and dirty'.
That's what I would do.

Thanks Don this is great stuff.... it is a cath wedding.

I specialize in Catholic Masses :) and I would offer a bit of advice if you don't know too much about them. Ask the bride if it's a full Mass or just a simple exchange of vows... that changes things tremendously. The latter usually happens if one of the couple is not a Catholic.

DEFINITELY meet with the Priest/Deacon beforehand! Let him know what the bride wants and ask him what he will allow and won't allow. Some Priests I've worked with will let you do quite a bit depending on the setup/architecture of the Church, including get up to the side of the altar if it isn't too distracting - to get a really good angle (they'll especially let you if the camera is unmanned. That takes care of the backs of heads at Communion!) Never met one that will allow any lighting. Most want you as unobtrusive as possible. Most will let you hook into their sound system. All of the above depends on how you talk to the Priest about the sacredness of the Mass; if you get that across, I've found you will win them over.

Rehearsals for Catholic Masses are more important to be at than most because where things are during the Mass doesn't usually follow the schedule you'd think. For instance, the vows are after the homily (sermon), but before Communion. There could be some cultural "extras" like flowers to Our Lady or the lasso or the coins - that would all be important to the couple to get on tape.

Good luck with your efforts!
Deborah

I specialize in Catholic Masses :) and I would offer a bit of advice if you don't know too much about them. Ask the bride if it's a full Mass or just a simple exchange of vows... that changes things tremendously. The latter usually happens if one of the couple is not a Catholic.

DEFINITELY meet with the Priest/Deacon beforehand! Let him know what the bride wants and ask him what he will allow and won't allow. Some Priests I've worked with will let you do quite a bit depending on the setup/architecture of the Church, including get up to the side of the altar if it isn't too distracting - to get a really good angle (they'll especially let you if the camera is unmanned. That takes care of the backs of heads at Communion!) Never met one that will allow any lighting. Most want you as unobtrusive as possible. Most will let you hook into their sound system. All of the above depends on how you talk to the Priest about the sacredness of the Mass; if you get that across, I've found you will win them over.

Rehearsals for Catholic Masses are more important to be at than most because where things are during the Mass doesn't usually follow the schedule you'd think. For instance, the vows are after the homily (sermon), but before Communion. There could be some cultural "extras" like flowers to Our Lady or the lasso or the coins - that would all be important to the couple to get on tape.

Good luck with your efforts!
Deborah

I know Deborah double posted by accident, but I heavily agree with her and think that everything she said should be read twice. I've done Catholic weddings where I was allowed full (as long as I was subtle) reign, and Catholic weddings where BOTH the photog and I were limited to the back aisle and the balcony. Knowing what you're dealing with ahead of time is why rehearsals are so important.

I'm editing a wedding right now shot in Ben Franklin's church. The Continental Congress attended there while in town. I knew this ahead of time, but learned a lot of interesting history before the rehearsal from the tour guide. That being said, attending the rehearsal allowed me to know ahead of time that I could place a camera ANYWHERE....as long as it wasn't seen/obvious. So while I shot the ceremony by myself (I do wish they had hired me for a two-person shoot), I was able to have four cameras sprinkled around the church to back me up, allow me to be a bit more mobile, and get some hard angles.




I specialize in Catholic Masses :) and I would offer a bit of advice if you don't know too much about them. Ask the bride if it's a full Mass or just a simple exchange of vows... that changes things tremendously. The latter usually happens if one of the couple is not a Catholic.

DEFINITELY meet with the Priest/Deacon beforehand! Let him know what the bride wants and ask him what he will allow and won't allow. Some Priests I've worked with will let you do quite a bit depending on the setup/architecture of the Church, including get up to the side of the altar if it isn't too distracting - to get a really good angle (they'll especially let you if the camera is unmanned. That takes care of the backs of heads at Communion!) Never met one that will allow any lighting. Most want you as unobtrusive as possible. Most will let you hook into their sound system. All of the above depends on how you talk to the Priest about the sacredness of the Mass; if you get that across, I've found you will win them over.

Rehearsals for Catholic Masses are more important to be at than most because where things are during the Mass doesn't usually follow the schedule you'd think. For instance, the vows are after the homily (sermon), but before Communion. There could be some cultural "extras" like flowers to Our Lady or the lasso or the coins - that would all be important to the couple to get on tape.

Good luck with your efforts!
Deborah

Hey David, I know you already asked the bride what she wanted and she said a 'typical wedding DVD'. I would suggest a slightly different approach. I would go to her with several options and find out what she's really looking for. Otherwise you risk not doing enough to meet her expectations or doing more than you need to do for what you're getting paid.

Specifically I would ask her what she wants to watch. Does she want to watch every minute of the ceremony, first dance and so on? Does she want to watch a somewhat shortened version of everything? Does she want to just watch a really short highlights video of it all? Does she want some combination of these options?

Once you find out what she really wants and expects you'll be on much more solid ground and the pressure of the unknown will be off. Just be sure to price accordingly for whatever she wants. d;-)

I feel like my weddings are pretty typical and standard - I start out with some music (usually the tune everyone used to walk down the aisle) and cut that into the ceremony, leave the ceremony long, do a "pictures footage" montage which leads into the reception, leave all the reception highlights basically untouched, and then create a fun dance montage. But I agree, try to figure out what the bride wants. Where has she been looking to find these "typical" wedding videos? And beware the Catholic Mass ;) there can definitely be strict rules!

E

Thank you everyone who has responded to me. Im ready for the Catholic wedding as I myself am Catholic and having been a wedding photographer will have no problems with the clergy.

BUT.... lets talk about exposure control.....Since the wedding is most likely "gun n run" how do you handle your exposure control? You jus leave the camera on Shutter Priorty and go? I do use my Zebras to check for blown highlights... (Im using a CAnon GL2 here Zebra at 75%?) but its pretty hard to use manual exposure in a run and gun environment isnt it?

And then where do these brides come up with these low light ceremony ideas??? They want a candlelit mass and a video of it.... Um.... like what about the grainy video...how you wedding pros handle this? I do have an on camera LED Litepanel... but sure wont be using this durng the ceremony.,,

Makes me wonder where the whole wedding industry is going....We gonna be shooting in Caves next?

So in closing...how do you handle your exposure control, so I dont blow the highlights, and how about those first dance, and other low light problems?

Thanks,,,,

Hey David,
I use Sonys PD170s excellant in lowlight and very little grain when I kick in the gain. Honestly I shoot most of my ceremonys at 1/60th, generally f/stop anywhere from 1.6 to 2.8 depending on the church and lighting and if need be, I kick the gain to 12. I've done the "candlelit" ceremonies and they are a hugh PITA but it's so "romantic". I've never done one in a church though. I'm surprised the priest will let them do that but then in Wisconsin you never know ;-)
The Canon isn't quite a good as the Sony in low light so you might need to use some gain, maybe 9 or 12 the iris wide open and if need be you could probably shoot at 1/30th since there isn't too much movement in a Catholic ceremony.

[QUOTE=Deborah Gallegos;1612660]I specialize in Catholic Masses :) and I would offer a bit of advice if you don't know too much about them. Ask the bride if it's a full Mass or just a simple exchange of vows... that changes things tremendously. The latter usually happens if one of the couple is not a Catholic.

There is no such thing as a "Full Mass". It's either a Mass or it's not. ;-)
Kind of like a "complete stop". There is no such thing, you either stop or you don't. haha

Here in New Zealand, a "full mass" Catholic wedding is about 1hr10mins hour long and includes the "Liturgy of the Eucharist" (singing and gifts, bread and wine bought to alter + prayers) and also the "Communion Rite" which involves the entire congregation lining up to slurp on the wine and chow down some bread.

Most Catholic ceremonies I film don't include these 2 portions (and are referred to as "half mass") running at about 45mins but still include the usual suspects.... Gospel, Homily, Lords Prayer etc.

... to slurp on the wine and chow down some bread...

Wow.


Deborah

No offense to Don, but I don't think you should be investing in an SD camera that's was introduced 7 years ago.

Lance...

Don wasnt saying invest in an SD cam...We were speaking about the equipment we already own. He was merely saying his SD cam is better in low light conditions then my Canon GL2.

I THINK my next cam is going to be an CANON XA-10. waiting to get my hands on one!

Interesting.
How many include all of the ceremony? I have always cut it down to bride's entrance and celebrants welcome. One verse of the first hymn, The first four sentences of the Marriage Rites then cut to "If anyone here knows a reason ... (just in case). The exchange of vows and rings and the celebrants declaration "I now pronounce you......", congratulation, "kiss the bride (or groom)". I only include the bible readings if they are read by a friend or family member, one verse of the last hymn, the final blessing, signing the register and the recessional. A few times I've been asked to keep the whole ceremony or the vicar's homily or all of the hymns, usually when the celebrant is a family member or the family have strong connections with the church or choir. I never include the communion part of a Catholic Mass, and have never been asked to.

I include everything. <yawn> Too many hassles with "did you get the...." if I don't. The only thing I crop bits out of is the signing of register, and a communion line (if super long). If there is anything I'm not sure about - like an overly long and boring hymn, I ask the couple during reception if they want me to trim things down, or include the whole thing. Usually they say to trim down to 1 verse + chorus. Who am I to mess with history...

And most certainly not a PDxx if you're considering handing over a 16:9 DVD. But then we've been through this before, all know that content is king, but dislike the way modern TVs stretch, interpolate or otherwise distort 4:3 material to fill their screens.

tom.

And then where do these brides come up with these low light ceremony ideas??? They want a candlelit mass and a video of it.... Um.... like what about the grainy video...how you wedding pros handle this? I do have an on camera LED Litepanel... but sure wont be using this durng the ceremony.,,

Makes me wonder where the whole wedding industry is going....We gonna be shooting in Caves next?

So in closing...how do you handle your exposure control, so I dont blow the highlights, and how about those first dance, and other low light problems?

Thanks,,,,

Hey David, I guess we could use an f1.2 in the caves

5Dmk2 vs HV30 low light test on Vimeo

that is an impressive comparison. Question: How do u get the video to "embed" on the forum? I tried the other day for an hour with one from Vimeo with no luck. I was putting Vimeo, Video Sharing For You (http://www.vimeo.com) in the embed link.

David,

Just copy the vimeo url code and paste it into your post.

It should look like this http://vvvv.vimeo.com/18931855

I used v v v instead of w w w, so you could see the code. Then you can 'preview post' to make sure it worked.

Hiya
The canon GL2 is actually not so hot in low light. Try staying wide on the couple (punching in will only make the lighting worst). Then pick something from the ceremony while the guests are sitted that you will edit out (like one of the readings) and use that time to find people in the audience with some light on them to punch in a bit and use for cut-a-ways later. Because with 1 camera its all going to be about the cut-a-ways.